Kail's Story
by Jersey13
Summary: A Changeling named Kail has been living in secret on Bajor and falls in love with a Starfleet officer. Will everything work out in the end?
1. Chapter 1

Author's note:  
This story was written quite some time ago, but I only just recently joined This story was written for two very special friends of mine, and they know who they are.

--This story takes place sometime in the 5th season (I think?), before the war ended.

He mindlessly shoveled the last few bites of his meal into his mouth, wondering for the hundredth time how the man sitting across from him had managed to get him to accept a lunch invitation. He had graciously declined the offer, and had even started walking back when it didn't look like he was going to accept no for an answer, but finally conceded when the man insisted. And so, Kail had let himself be dragged inside, sat down at a small round table, and took the offering of Hasperat that was spooned out into a bowl for him.

As a Changeling, Kail did not require a daily intake of sustenance to maintain his bodily functions and energies, but under no circumstances was he about to let anyone to think that he actually was not Bajoran. No one knew about it, and he intended to keep it that way, or else face certain persecution from everyone around him, including his closest friends.

He ate the food placed before him by his best friend and neighbor, Kathan Dovan, and hoped his reluctance to eat the Hasperat didn't show too much. The process of digestion, as Kail had learned it during his schooling years, seemed almost disgusting to him, but he accepted it as an anatomical necessity of most humanoid species. The satisfaction and pleasures gained by spending so much time finding, preparing, and consuming food eluded his understanding for quite a while, but he eventually figured that it must have something to do with the ability to taste and smell food; two abilities he did not possess nor could he replicate with his unique shape-changing abilities.

Kail put down his spoon and looked down at the empty bowl in front of him. At a loss for words, he sheepishly avoided eye contact with Dovan, unsure whether to thank him for the meal or attempt to start a polite conversation.

"Are you sure you don't want another bowl? I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat so little of my famous Spiced Hasperat. You're not ill, are you?" his friend asked with concern.

"No, I'm not ill." The last thing he needed was for people to think something was wrong with him. "I just don't like to eat too much at once, that's all."

Dovan nodded, thinking it strange, but said nothing more of it. "I just wanted you to know I appreciate your company as well as the help in fixing my water pump. I'm not as young as I used to be, but I can still fix one hell of a bowl of Spiced Hasperat."

Kail smiled in appreciation and told him he was quite welcome. After all, they had treated him like a son ever since Kail first came to the village, a lone carpenter looking for work. Kail had eventually found a place for himself in the village, but most importantly, he'd found a place in Dovan's family. Kathan Dovan had lost his wife and eldest son in a raid during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, and hadn't seen his daughter Kelsee or his son Telfan in several years. And so, Dovan was alone most of the time before he befriended Kail.

Kail himself didn't even know if he had a family somewhere on a distant planet of the cosmos until he learned of the Dominion incursion. It was while apprenticing to become a structural engineer in the nearby city of Lerren, not two days travel distance. The computers and information databases he had been given access to had some information about Changelings such as himself. It came as quite a shock to find that the Changelings were the founders of the Dominion, and that the Dominion was ruthlessly trying to gain control of the Alpha Quadrant as it had it's own Quadrant, the Gamma Quadrant. His people were trying to secretly infiltrate, corrupt, and destroy the major powers of the Alpha Quadrant that was his home. Kail had researched more, only to find that his own people were cold, unfeeling, and did not care about preserving the individual freedoms of the worlds under their control. All they cared about was that everything was in order, their order.

The discovery that his own people were so cold to other humanoid species, and deathly feared by all of them, strengthened his resolution to keep his true nature a secret, even if he himself was not a founder of the Dominion. The fact that he was a Changeling made him dangerous. And so, not even Dovan knew about his true nature, despite the fact that he was the closest thing to family that Kail had.

Seeing that Kail's mind had wandered somewhere else, Dovan cleared his throat and changed the subject of conversation. "Have I told you that Kelsee joined a planetary survey mission that will be cataloguing asteroids in the Denorius Belt? I'm so proud of her. I kept telling her that she would get to see the Celestial Temple of the Prophets one day!"

"Only a few hundred times in the last month or so," Kail answered teasingly. He really was happy that his friend had something to be proud of. A lonely structural engineer such as himself could have no such hope; at least, not that he could see.

"Oh, yes..." Dovan said, furrowing his brow trying to remember. "But there is one thing I don't think I told you about. I wanted to keep it a surprise until the time came."

This did seem to spark Kail's interest a bit, and he looked up. "Kelsee is coming to visit here before she leaves," Dovan exclaimed excitedly, "and she's bringing a friend from Starfleet with her to visit with us!"

"When?" Kail asked; his interest in seeing Kelsee again made him even more interested. He'd seen her only once before, but the impression he got was that she was a very likable and strong-willed young lady, much like her uncle Dovan.

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Kail exclaimed and quickly stood up. "I have to get her friend's room ready! Why didn't you tell me two days ago? If you had, I wouldn't be in such a rush to do it now."

"It's all right, Kail," Dovan reassured him. "Except for a few of the heavier boxes, I've already taken care of the second bedroom."

"But what about your back?" Kail scolded. "You know you're not supposed to be lifting too much."

Dovan gave him his most reassuring smile. "It wasn't heavy work. I left the three heaviest boxes for you to carry down to the cellar."

"All right, I might as well get them now." Kail sighed, and then headed down the short hallway towards the second bedroom to retrieve the boxes.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Kail!" Dovan yelled down the hallway loud enough for Kail to hear him.

Kail grumbled to himself in response. Humanoids were so fragile, especially older ones. If Dovan kept exerting himself like that, he soon wouldn't be able to do much of anything at all for himself, much less cook his famous Spiced Hasperat any more. But Kail had to admire his determination to stay active and self-sufficient, and being angry with Dovan would help nothing.

He picked up two boxes at once, the height of them just blocking his sight of the door to the cellar, but his own impressive height allowed him to carry the boxes with ease. He maneuvered himself sideways in order to find the door near the entrance to the kitchen, but stopped suddenly when he heard a very feminine "Oomph!" in front of him. The boxes blocked his view of who had bumped into them, causing them to slide in his grip. Kail struggled to regain his balance, but only managed to allow one of the boxes to slide into his face. It knocked him down into a heap underneath them.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" said the female voice, and then the box on his head was pushed aside. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," he said as she paused for a moment to stare at him. Then a look of pure happiness came over her face as Kail suddenly recognized whom she was.

"Kail!" she exclaimed excitedly and hugged him fiercely with one of the boxes still in his lap. "Kail! It's you! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Hello Kelsee," Kail said, grinning at her contagious and youthful enthusiasm.

"Kail! Kail! Kelsee's come home early!" Dovan shouted from the kitchen. "I'm going to make an extra large batch of my Spiced Hasperat!"

"I noticed," he answered, still grinning at Kelsee.

"That's all right, Uncle, we ate before we left the shuttle port in Lenner," Kelsee yelled back.

"Well, we can have it for dinner then. It's going to take a couple of hours to prepare a batch big enough for all of us anyway."

"I can't wait!" Kelsee excitedly reassured her father.

Kelsee giggled and offered Kail a hand, which he took gratefully, and then his focus turned to the woman standing in the doorway. She was smiling at them in amusement. Kelsee noticed and remembered her manners; introductions should come first.

"Kail, this is Connie Preston. She'll be staying with us for the next week while I'm here," Kelsee introduced her. "Connie, this is my friend, Tescar Kail."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Connie," Kail said, and he offered his hand in the usual human custom.

"Actually, Kail, it's Miss Preston," Kelsee corrected him. "Humans always say surnames last."

Connie took his outstretched hand and shook it firmly. "It's all right. Kail, you can just call me Connie."

"All right, Connie." He smiled as he noticed she was a bit older and more mature than Kelsee. Kelsee's youthful energy was a welcome distraction, but sometimes too much. She had the ability to be calm and concentrated though, and that was one of the big reasons Kail respected her so much. "So, what brings you here with Kelsee?"

"The asteroid survey mission doesn't start for another week and I didn't have anywhere in particular to go, so Kelsee invited me to stay here with her," Connie explained.

"Ah, I see," Kail said. "Well, as soon as I get these boxes into the cellar, the second room down there is yours."

"Thank you," Connie said politely, smiling in appreciation.

Kail picked up the two boxes off the floor and put them in an out-of-the-way space as Kelsee showed Connie to her room. He climbed the steep stairs to the main floor to return to Connie's room for the third box, but the girls had closed the door behind them.

He figured Connie may have wanted to change clothes or something after their journey, so Kail did not disturb them. But just as he turned to leave, he heard Kelsee's familiar giggle as well as the mention of his own name. He couldn't help but be curious about what they were saying, so he cautiously leaned closer to the door to listen.

"Isn't Kail just the sweetest guy you've ever met?" Kelsee said with her usual youthful spunk, drawing a smile from Kail's lips. "I've only met him once before, but he's such a modest and likable person. I doubt Uncle Dovan would have gotten along quite so well without him. He's always saying good things about Kail in the letters he sends me."

"Yes, Kail does seem very nice," Connie agreed, then smiled suspiciously. "You don't have a crush on him or something, do you?"

"Me? Nah." Kelsee giggled again. "Well, maybe I used to, but I don't think I'm old enough for him. Besides, I'm quite happy just being his friend. You and Kail, however, would be the perfect couple."

Connie laughed at the comment. "I see, so now you're trying to play matchmaker."

"No!" Kelsee denied, blushing. "Kail almost snickered out loud, but caught himself before he would have drawn attention to himself. He would have been so embarrassed if he were caught eavesdropping!

"Then what did you mean?" Connie asked, still grinning.

"I just meant... You and Kail would look good together. You complement each other perfectly!"

"You think so...?" asked Connie, apparently wanting to hear more.

"Yes! You see? I think you like him too, but you're afraid he wouldn't be interested," Kelsee hypothesized.

"He is very handsome, but he doesn't strike me as the type to be thinking of every woman he meets as a potential girlfriend. But do you think he'd be as interested in getting to know me as I may be in him?"

Kelsee noticed her friend's careful choice of words. "Just admit it. You think he's cute, and you want me to tell you if I think he'd be attracted to you."

"All right! I admit it! But do you think he'd like me?"

"Connie," Kelsee said, putting an understanding hand on her friend's shoulder, "I'm positive he'd absolutely adore you if he got to know you."

Kail couldn't believe his ears. Two beautiful young women were talking about him as if he were some kind of irresistible hunk. He'd always tried to be polite, understanding, and attentive to everyone he met, but he never thought his attentions would ever attract the interest of a woman. It sounded as if Connie was interested in forming a relationship with him, and Kelsee was encouraging her. That was the real question, though. Did he want to attempt to persue the relationship with her?

He'd never had a relationship with a woman before. As a Changeling, he mostly preferred to be by himself, or else risk detection. Did he really want to take that chance? What if she found out? How much would it hurt him, or worse her, if she did?

But being lonely is very painful as well. Kail always welcomed the opportunity to make new friends, as he did not have many. There really was no decision to make; Kail did not know which was better. Fate would have to make the decision for him.

He lightly rapped on the door with his knuckles and the soft whispers from the two girls inside immediately ceased.

"Who is it?" Kelsee asked hesitantly.

"It's me," Kail answered. "I came back to get the last box to take down to the cellar."

"Oh, sure Kail. Come on in and get it," Kelsee said, sounding relieved, although Kail couldn't be sure whether or not she still suspected that he may have overheard their conversation.

Quickly and quietly, Kail entered the room, carefully avoiding the display of any nervous mannerisms that might indicate that he'd overheard. He also tried to avoid eye contact with either of the two girls, concentrating on just getting in and out as quickly as possible without seeming suspicious, but Connie managed to catch his eye as he turned for the door.

He paused to look into those eyes for less than a second, but in that second he saw something in her eyes. He wasn't sure what it was that he saw, but it was something he'd never seen in any other woman's eyes before. He was tempted by that look to stop and talk to her, but he escaped before the impulse overcame him. As the door closed behind him, he heard a burst of tension-releasing laughter, which turned to more whispering. It faded as he made himself carry the last box down into the cellar and leave them to their privacy. 


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the day passed quite uneventfully except for Dovan's broken water pump and another villager's rusted door, which had fallen off its hinges. It was so rusted and old that he ended up having to find another door, which thankfully took up a good portion of his afternoon. The question of what to do with the rest of the evening was quickly answered when Dovan invited him to come to dinner with them. Kail did not have to think long about it; he was almost anxious to talk to Connie again and possibly get some idea what it was that she found so attractive about him.

Before he knew it, he was sitting at the small kitchen table with three other people, each eating generously from a very big bowl of Spiced Hasperat, except for Kail of course. Being a Changeling, Kail never got hungry, so he only ate to reinforce the ideals of his humanoid Bajoran disguise. Bajorans had to eat just like any other humanoid, so Kail had to pretend to eat, too.

"Aren't you hungry, Kail?" Kelsee asked, looking up as she shoveled the last spoonful of Hasperat in to her mouth.

"Kail never eats too much," Dovan said with his mouth full. "I don't know how he keeps his weight up."

"I just don't like to eat too much at once," Kail pointed out, making a note to eat even slower next time.

Everyone seemed to accept that, and silence dominated the room for several long minutes. Kail couldn't bring himself to eat any more, but everyone seemed to be almost done, so he didn't worry too much about it.

Connie finished her bowl first, and pushed it aside. "Kelsee and I are going to go hiking tomorrow and camp outside for a few nights. Would you like to come with us, Kail? You're welcome to join us too, Dovan, if you'd like. It's all right with you, isn't it, Kelsee?"

"Oh, sure!" Kelsee said, finishing up her own bowl. "I was just about to ask them myself."

"Thank you girls, but I think I'm getting a little too old to go out hiking for a long time," Dovan laughed.

Kail had to think about it for a few moments. There was nothing pressing for him to do job-wise the next few days, so her certainly had the time to join them. But did he really want to be out there alone with two women who seemed to be crazy about him?

"Sure, Connie," he responded with a smile. "I'd love to go hiking with you both."

"Great!" Kelsee exclaimed. "We'll leave tomorrow morning just before noon, but we'll meet here first to make sure we've all got the supplies and food we need."

"All right, I'll be here," Kail confirmed, then politely stood and collected the dishes to be washed. Kelsee gave Connie an encouraging wink while Kail's back was turned to them, and then she let out a loud yawn.

"Well, I think I'm ready for bed," Kelsee said while stretching out her back in the chair. "You all should turn in soon, too. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow!"

"Yes, I'm right behind you, Kelsee. Good night everyone," Connie said, letting out a yawn of her own, then followed Kelsee out of the kitchen to her bedroom, leaving Kail and Dovan still sitting at the table.

For a long moment, Kail's mind wandered and he said nothing. Dovan had noticed, but simply stared at him, as if reading his mind. Kail looked up in confusion when Dovan's gaze did not waver.

"What?" Kail inquired.

Dovan smiled at him. "You like her, don't you."

Kail blinked, not knowing how to respond.

"Yes, I know that look very well," Dovan said with a laugh. "I saw the way she looked at you. She's crazy about you."

"Yes, I think Kelsee is trying to encourage her, too."

"You're absolutely right, she is. But you don't seem very sure of yourself when it comes to knowing what it is you're feeling for her."

Kail smiled. "You're very astute. I'm trying to make an effort not to disappoint her, but I'm not sure what to expect from all of this."

"Tescar Kail, in all the years I've known you, not once have I seen you with a woman. Is Connie the first woman to really show an interest in you?"

"That's a difficult question," Kail began. "I honestly don't know if any other women I've met had any interest in a continuing relationship with me. I don't think so, but I just hadn't really thought about it until now. I never thought I was that interesting."

"Of course you are! I can't understand why all the young women in the village wouldn't be banging down your door."

Kail knew Dovan always had a tendency to exaggerate, but he appreciated the attempt to boost his ego. He had no idea what Dovan was getting at, anyway.

"Well, right now, I think Connie may be contemplating whether or not to try and bang down your door for some attention," Dovan continued. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

Kail smiled to himself. "I'm going to go hiking with them tomorrow and show Connie the time of her life."

"Good man." Dovan patted him on the back, and then stood to go to bed. "Good night, Kail."

"Good night, Dovan," Kail answered, and then Dovan was gone.

The day had proved itself to be more exciting that usual, and Kail realized it had taken its toll on his own body as well, making him feel very tired. He didn't normally sleep like most other humanoids, but the strain of holding a solid humanoid shape all day would force him to return his body to it's natural, gelatinous-liquid state to regenerate. Kail was becoming even more tired as he left Dovan's house and he approached his home just a few houses down the dirt street through the middle of the village.

As he walked through his door, he was tempted to just revert back to his natural state right then and there on the floor, but instead he forced himself to remain in his solid form for a few minutes longer in order to relieve himself of his dinner. He had no digestive tract to digest the food. But the comment he had made to Dovan not too long ago stuck in his mind, so he sat in a chair at the small kitchen table to think.

How did he intend to show Connie the time of her life? What could he possibly do to impress her? They were going on a hike, so maybe they might pass a bed of wild flowers he could pick for her, or perhaps he would show her how to catch fish in the creek. Then he remembered the cliffs just beyond the forest. Not many people knew how to get there, but Dovan had shown him a few times before, and Kail had a good memory. Perhaps Connie would like to see the entire Lerrena Valley from the cliffs. It was a breathtaking view.

Just the thought of taking Connie to see the Lerrena cliffs was relaxing him so much, he began to lose what was left of his weakened control over his solid humanoid shape, and he collapsed into a puddle next to the chair he had been sitting in. He rested for a few moments and then picked himself back up in order to climb the steps up to his bedroom where his comfortable bed was waiting.

As he turned to leave the kitchen, he was unaware of the shadow that moved just outside his kitchen window, watching him as he retired to his bedroom. 


	3. Chapter 3

The next day came quickly and Kail found himself eagerly awaiting the arrival of the two girls from their rooms. He had dreamt about taking Connie to the Lerrena Cliffs the night before as he was resting. He sat at the kitchen table, his pack resting at the foot of his chair.

"Hello, Kail!" Kelsee greeted him as she walked into the kitchen with her own pack; Connie was close at her heel. "Are you ready?"

"I've been ready!" Kail exclaimed excitedly.

"Let's go then!" Kelsee said, leading them out the door. "The less time we spend here, the more time we have to hike!"

Kelsee led them down the same trails her father had taken her as a child, the trails that Dovan had also shown Kail. The first hour of the hike was traveled in relative silence as they climbed steadily upward at a slight incline. Kail stopped after a while when he saw a patch of wild lavender bell-flowers growing next to the trail. He picked a few of them and hid them in his pack to give to Connie after they made camp.

They passed a few other beds of wild flowers, some of which Kail also collected, as they continued on upward towards the top of the ridge where the Lerrena Valley was formed and the cliffs overlooked the entire valley from the eastern side. When they got to the top of the ridge in late afternoon and if it turned out to be a clear evening, they might even be able to see the lights from the city of Lerren farther down in the valley.

Evening came and the afternoon haze faded with the sunset as expected. As the three climbed higher up the ridge, they could see some of the light from the city through breaks in the trees. It was just after twilight set in the sky when they finally found a fair-sized clearing to make camp, and they set up their tents and lit a campfire.

After Kail set up his tent, he removed the carefully stored flowers from his pack and arranged them in a pleasing manner for presentation to Connie. She was sitting on a fallen log near the campfire, listening to it crackle and looking up into the stars, thinking about how very soon she would be traveling among those stars once again. Kail came up behind her so as not to be seen and kept the gift out of her sight to surprise her.

"How are you this evening?" Kail asked politely as he sat down next to her.

His sudden presence seemed to startle her a bit. "Oh, I'm fine. I was just thinking about how much I'm enjoying this, but I'm still anxious to start that survey of the Denorius Belt from Deep Space Nine."

"I see," Kail said, looking around to see if Kelsee may have been listening in, but she was still busy making minor adjustments to her tent and bedding. That was good; that way, he and Connie could have a few moments alone to talk. He brought the flowers into her view, which she almost immediately noticed.

"Oh, Kail, they're beautiful!" she exclaimed as he held them out to her. "I had no idea Bajor had such a diverse and beautiful variety of flora. You found all these here in this forest?"

"Yes, I found them as we were hiking," Kail explained. "The Lenner forest is one of the few place that remained relatively untouched by the Cardassian occupation. I think even the Cardassians found this place too peaceful and beautiful to destroy."

"That, and the fact that this land has virtually no mining or major agricultural value whatsoever," Connie pointed out.

Kail smiled. "Yes, that too."

"Thank you so much for the flowers, Kail," Connie said. "I love them so much."

"You're very welcome," Kail said, feeling very pleased with himself. "There's also something I'd like to show you tomorrow morning."

"Oh? What is it?" she asked with curiosity.

"It's a surprise, but I will tell you that it's a place I'd like to take you early tomorrow morning. Kelsee likes to sleep somewhat late, so we should have time to do it before she wakes up."

"Wouldn't she miss us if she wakes up while we're gone?" Connie asked, hesitant to leave Kelsee out.

"We can leave her a note, but I imagine we'll be back before she even wakes up. Besides, it's not far, not even a half-hour's walk. Kelsee knows where it is, but the place is a while off the trail we're following, so we wouldn't be seeing it on our way. I thought you might enjoy seeing it, though."

"All right, but I must warn you, I'm not a particularly early riser myself," she admitted. "You may have to wake me up."

"That's all right, I don't mind," Kail said with a smile, and then suppressed an involuntary cringe as Connie leaned up against him with her head on his shoulder. He cautiously placed a protective hand around her waist and she happily cuddled closer to him.

They remained in this comfortable position for almost half an hour until Kelsee came over to join then at the campfire and brought some food rations with her. Kail, like always, ate very little. Connie and Kelsee chatted lightly while they ate to their hearts' content, but Connie kept looking curiously over at Kail, who seemed unusually quiet. Like most women, Kelsee and Connie never seemed to run out of subjects to talk about. Even after they finished eating and were lounging by the campfire, they did not stop talking for more than about thirty seconds. Kail was reserved for most of the evening, but occasionally made a comment or two while listening to the girls.

It was getting quite late when the first yawn of the evening came from Kelsee. Another came from Connie and their conversation dwindled for more than a minute, the longest period of silence that evening. Kail was becoming very tired from holding his humanoid shape and was about to excuse himself to bed when Kelsee spoke first.

"I'm really tired," Kelsee said, followed by another yawn. "I think I'm going to go to sleep now."

"Good night, Kelsee," Kail and Connie said in unison as Kelsee got up and walked inside her tent, leaving them both sitting on the log next to the campfire.

"Well, if you're going to be taking me to see something tomorrow morning, I'd better go to bed, too," Connie said.

"Yes, I'm feeling quite tired myself," Kail agreed.

Connie stood and then kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Good night, Kail."

He said nothing and just stared after her as she walked away to her tent, then disappeared inside. She had kissed him on the cheek. What did that mean? He didn't know what it meant, except that she liked him. He still wasn't sure how much she liked him, though. It was almost like she had changed overnight from being confident and inquisitive toward him to being aloof and slightly cautious, but it was still obvious that she liked him a lot.

Kail got up and retired to his own tent, still thinking. She was probably able to guess by that point that he was interested in her too, but how else could he show her? He'd gotten her flowers, he's going to take her to see the cliffs tomorrow morning; what else could he do? The only thin he could think of was to wait and see what opportunities arose. But what if it wasn't enough? Would she expect more from him?

Kail banished the thought that he was not good enough and settled down on some blankets he'd brought to substitute as a bed. But he couldn't help but worry about what she might think of him if she ever found out the truth about him. Would she still love him if she knew he was a Changeling? Would she become afraid and turn him over to the authorities? Many humanoid species had a xenophobic tendency to fear or even hate others who were different and often stereotyped them all as being the same. Would she think him as the same as one of the founders of the Dominion, the empire her own people are at war with?

He wanted to think of her as being smarter than that. He wanted to believe that any initial fear she might have would be overridden by the knowledge of what kind of person he really is. But will she know him well enough if and when she finds out? He wasn't sure of that either, but he would trust her. If he was going to persue this relationship, it's only a question of when she will find out. And if it got really serious before she found out herself, he would just have to tell her.

He could not hold his shape any longer. As the molecules of his body lost their cohesion, he hid himself under one of the blankets so as not to be seen. Kail rested, his thoughts in turmoil.

Bajor's red dwarf sun was about forty-five minutes away from its rise over the horizon. Kail arose from his bedding and solidified himself, fully refreshed and anxious to take Connie to see the Lerren cliffs. He quickly packed up the blankets and then left his tent to rouse Connie. As he approached the opening to her tent, he was almost run down as she was exiting. She obviously didn't see him until they were standing virtually nose-to-nose.

"I see I didn't have to come and wake you up after all," Kail said.

Connie smiled and blushed slightly. "I guess I was more anxious to see whatever it was you wanted to show me more than I thought. I woke up about half an hour ago and couldn't go back to sleep."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Already?" Connie asked, surprised. "The sun hasn't even come up yet. There's no light."

"That's the best part," Kail hinted.

Connie put it together very quickly. "So, we're going somewhere to watch the sunrise?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "And before I manage to spoil any more of it for you, perhaps we should be on our way."

She quickly grabbed her jacket from her tent and joined him at the edge of the clearing they were camping in. "Lead the way."

Kail led her through the trees and thick underbrush. It was still a bit too dark to see everything clearly, so she ended up tripping a few times on loose stones or exposed roots from time to time. Overall, they had a good pace and Kail was glad to know they would arrive just in time. Connie still didn't know where exactly he was taking her, and so was visibly disappointed when they stopped suddenly.

"Are we here already?" she asked in confusion.

"No," Kail said. "I just thought I should stop and warn you to be extra careful that you don't trip and fall or lose your footing around here."

"Why is it I should be so extra careful now?"

Kail stepped forward, parting the bushes in front of them, and offered out his hand to her. "This is why."

She took his hand and stepped forward to see that the ground became very steeply inclined for a few meters and then disappeared completely, revealing a very wide-open space. She took another cautious step forward and suddenly realized she was looking down upon the entire valley from above on the top of a cliff. The early morning twilight still made it difficult to see everything, so Kail sat down to wait for the sunrise and urged Connie to join him. She sat down next to him, a safe distance away from the edge, and marveled at the sights being unveiled before her. The sky brightened with the sun's first rays of light.

She could just make out the lines of the trees that covered the ridge as they wrapped protectively around the valley on its southern and eastern edge. And, if she looked hard enough, she could just see the farthest outskirts of the village they had left the day before. It was towards the bottom of the valley. A few distant clouds had just become visible as the morning sun's first rays peeked up over the distant horizon in the general direction of the city of Lerren.

Those first rays of light shone out upon the trees and the ridge like beams of spotlights looking for someone to shine on. The beauty of the scene took her breath away as the beams of light grew to encompass the entire valley.

"This is so beautiful, Kail," she said dreamily. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

He smiled as she leaned closer to him. "You're quite welcome."

No sooner had they stood up to take in the whole scene when he felt her lips upon his. It startled him at first, but as she wrapped her arms around his chest, he relaxed and kissed her back. His own arms found their way around her waist and they held each other in a passionate embrace.

They remained in each other's arms a good while before an unusually strong gust of wind came at them and the sound of a shuttlecraft hovering just above them greeted their ears. It was a Starfleet issue shuttlecraft and in the main window port they could see Kelsee, who waved at them just before a transporter beam whisked them away. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Kelsee, why are we on a shuttlecraft?"

"They needed us early, Kail," she explained. "In order to still be able to start the asteroid survey of the Denorius belt on time, they need us all to come onto Deep Space Nine as soon as possible."

"We're heading out in to space," Kail commented, growing worried. "What about me?"

"Yes, Kelsee, what about Kail?" Connie asked. "Why aren't we taking him home first?"

"There's an ion-plasma storm heading this way," the pilot volunteered. "We'll be lucky if we make it to DS9 without too much turbulence. We wouldn't make it if we had to go back to drop him off. We'd have had to wait at least a week for it to go away."

"What will I do on Deep Space Nine?" Kail asked worriedly. "Is that how long I'll have to stay there? A week?"

"Don't worry, Kail," Kelsee reassured him. "The pilot will arrange for your temporary quarters once we get there. As soon as the storm passes, you'll have a booking on the next passage back to Bajor, compliments of Starfleet."

"That means we can have more time to spend together," Connie whispered into his ear. Kail smiled at her comment, even though he didn't particularly like the idea of leaving Bajor at all. The Federation wasn't stupid; being so close to the wormhole meant that they would probably do blood testing of ships' passengers for Changeling infiltrators. What if he were caught?

"What's wrong?" Connie asked. She had noticed how his smile had suddenly faded.

"I just don't like the idea of leaving Bajor so suddenly," he answered.

"Why? It'll only be for a few days, a week at most. You'll be able to catch the first ship going back to Bajor as soon as the storm passes."

"No, it's not that..."

"Then what? Why don't you want to leave Bajor?"

"Well, there's going to be so many different aliens there... And what am I supposed to do there, anyway? I'll be so bored..."

"You're just making up excuses," she said, laughing away his worries. "I think you're afraid because this is such a new experience for you. Everyone who comes to DS9 is civilized enough that they're not going to bother you. If you get bored, you can always go to a holosuite, or, maybe, you are probably good enough with machines that you could help out Chief O'Brien if you wanted. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to give you a job. There's a lot you can do to pass the time on Deep Space Nine. I'm hoping that I'll be able to pass a good deal of that time with you, too."

Her words brought another smile back to his face, and he took her hand in his. "I suppose you're right."

Connie snuggled up against him once again, and Kail held her for half an hour until the shuttlecraft started shaking. They rose to look out the view port and Kail almost gasped at what he saw. He'd never been in space before, so long as he remembered anyway, so it was somewhat startling to see the space station Deep Space Nine looming closer with every passing second. But even more startling were the clouds of energy they were passing through to get there. The clouds spewed bolts of energy every so often, and every once in a while a bolt would lance out toward the craft, creating turbulence.

"Hang on, we're almost there," the pilot called out to them.

The shuttle docked on the outer docking ring of the station, and after its shields were reactivated, the turbulence ceased. The hatch to the shuttle lifted, and the inner airlock rolled aside like a huge gear to reveal the inside of the stark, Cardassian gray corridors where a small compliment of Starfleet officers were waiting for them. There were two of them, both human, wearing medical blue uniforms and holding small portable medical kits.

"Julian!" Kelsee exclaimed excitedly. "I wasn't expecting such a gracious welcome."

"Actually, it's been quite busy in the infirmary lately, and under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have had time to come and greet you," Julian explained. "I'm here on business. Starfleet requires us to do random blood testing in most incoming ships, especially those whose origins of flight are within the general area near the wormhole."

Kail froze.

"So you have to take some of our blood?" Connie asked. "What for?"

"We'll only need samples from a couple of you," Julian assured her. "Changelings have been impersonating key Federation personnel more frequently since the beginning of the war and random blood testing is the only way to find them."

Julian's assistant proceeded to retrieve a sample from the pilot and Julian looked directly at Kail, as if to evaluate him. Kail momentarily forgot to simulate breathing as the doctor reached for his instrument to take a blood sample with, and then he breathed an inward sigh of relief when Julian pressed it against Kelsee's arm instead of his.

That was close, Kail thought. What if he'd been caught? What would he have done then? Kail had to leave as soon as possible. There was no way he could avoid the blood tests forever.

The doctor and his assistant finished inspecting the samples and turned to leave. "Perhaps I can buy you and your friends a drink later on tonight in Quark's, Kelsee?" Julian asked.

"I'm sorry, Julian," Connie apologized and interlocked her arm within Kail's. "I've already got plans to spend the evening with Kail."

"Oh," he responded, clearly disappointed, but he didn't let it get to him too much. "Well, perhaps some other time then?"

"Sure thing," Connie assured him as he turned to follow his assistant back to the Infirmary on the Promenade.

Kelsee gave her one of those 'What are you crazy?' looks and whispered, "I don't know how you turned him down! He's so cute!"

"Well why don't you go after him then?" Connie whispered back.

"I think I will!" Kelsee said smiling, then quickly strode off after the doctor to catch up with him down the corridor. The pilot, seeing no need to stick around, returned to do maintenance on the shuttle, leaving Connie and Kail alone in the corridor next to the airlock.

The doctor couldn't have been much younger than Kail himself, but his charm, boyish face, and slight build made him seem younger and the perfect match for Kelsee. He was tall as well as quite skinny, but Kail was still a good fourteen centimeters taller, which must have seemed somewhat imposing. Perhaps that's why Julian decided to test Kelsee instead.

"So, who's he?" Kail asked.

"Who, Julian?" asked Connie. "He's the Chief Medical Officer of Deep Space Nine. I accidentally broke my arm playing Parisi Squares in one of the holosuites just before I went to Bajor with Kelsee and he managed to patch me up nicely. He asked to buy me a drink afterwards and I said yes."

"I've heard that Parisi Squares can be dangerous," Kail commented and followed Connie as she started walking toward the habitat ring.

"Yes, it can be, but so can life," Connie explained with a smile.

"Why, Connie," he teased. "I never knew you were such a thrill-seeker."

She laughed at his comment. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

"I imagine there's even more you don't know about me," Kail admitted.

"What makes you think there's anything about you that I don't know?" Connie asked, seeming perplexed.

Kail's smile turned to a frown as they stopped in front of his assigned quarters. "Because if you knew about... all of it... I doubt you would still like me as much as you do now."

"What makes you say that?" she said, taking his hand in hers. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Kail, and it's not because of your family, wealth or anything else like that. I'm falling for you because you're you, the nicest, most caring man I've ever met."

"But, if you only knew..."

"How do you know I don't already know?" she confronted him. "I did some asking around about you, you know. I must've talked to almost all the people in the village and I haven't found anything at all that would make me change my mind about you."

"No one else in the village knows about some of my... predicaments," Kail said, frowning again. "No one knows, and I'm afraid to tell you, but I also don't want to hurt you."

"Then don't, if you're that afraid," she reassured him. "I have faith in you. I trust you."

"So, what do we do now?" Kail asked, changing the subject.

"I have to report to Captain Sisko soon, so why don't you get settled into your quarters and I'll show you around the station in a few hours?"

"All right," Kail agreed. "I thought maybe I'd look around the promenade for a while, anyway."

"Good," Connie said. "I'd better go. I'll be back to meet you later."

"See you then," Kail said as she disappeared around the bend in the corridor. 


	5. Chapter 5

Connie had been right about Deep Space Nine. There was so much to do on the station in the short amount of time that he would be staying that he completely lost track of time when Connie came looking for him that evening. Kail was chatting with a woman who sold crafts and jewelry from a kiosk on the promenade when Connie found him and managed to finally drag him away.

"Where are we going?" Kail asked her as she placed herself between him and anything that might distract him from her quest.

"I rented a holosuite," she answered as she led him up the stairs to the third level of Quark's bar where the holosuites were located. "I've got a program that I think we'll both enjoy very much."

As they approached the door to holosuite two, Connie took an isolinear chip from her pocket and inserted it into the slot in the holosuite's main external terminal. The door opened a few moments later and Kail was presented with a scene not too unlike what might have been found on Bajor, but it was vary apparent that the scene was from Earth. As soon as Connie pulled him inside, the door slid shut and disappeared and a blast of cool, salty air washed over him. Bright flashing lights and loud noises also greeted his other senses from other directions.

The scene was somewhat familiar, and although he'd never been to a beach before, he remembered studying about them a little during his education. All the beaches on Bajor had been polluted or destroyed by the Cardassian occupation, making it impossible to see such a beautiful scene as the beach he was currently standing on. Dusk was slowly falling over the scene and most of the daytime beach dwellers had left, leaving the still-warm sand, the crashing waves, and the salty, cool breezes relatively unpopulated.

Nearby behind him was a wooden boardwalk that ended in concrete near a rocky pier with small wooden docks extruding here and there. Around the concrete part of the boardwalk were paved streets on which people walked along, marveling at the delicious smells coming from lines of food vendors and at the flashing lights emanating from the stores, as well as from the strange-looking contraptions which contained screaming, happy people that were cheering with fun and delight.

"So, what would you like to do first?" Connie asked, smiling in anticipated excitement.

"What are those machines doing to make those people scream like that?" Kail asked. "Aren't they scared?"

"Those are rides, Kail," Connie explained. "These people are having the time of their lives scaring themselves silly, but it's all very safe. No one gets hurt, except for the occasional sour stomach from riding too many times."

"I see."

"So, what would you like to do first?" she repeated.

Kail looked at her in amazement, looked around at the rides, then looked back at her with a look that said, 'You expect me to get on one of those?' She burst out laughing at his confounded look.

"Why don't we go on that one?" she said, pointing up.

When Kail looked up to see a roller-coaster track and a car roar by on it, he went wide-eyed in astonishment, and before he knew it, Connie was taking him by the hand and pulling him towards the entrance.

"Uh, Connie, I don't know if I want to try this."

"Don't worry, you'll love it," she reassured him. "I know I do!"

"That's what I was afraid of," he said as she pulled him into the seat next to her and helped him pull down and fasten the safety restraints. In a matter of moments before he could change his mind, the car began moving backwards up the inclined starting ramp. It was pulled up very high in the sky by a winch and stopped. Kail looked out around him and enjoyed the almost-dark sky, the wide and never-ending expanse of beach stretching out to either side, as well as the salty breeze that surrounded him. The scene was very peaceful and beautiful but that suddenly changed as the car was released and plummeted downward at incredible speeds on the track.

A rush of panic threatened to overtake him when suddenly the track curved upward into a loop, making him feel somewhat light-headed. The panic disappeared as the loop turned into an inverted corkscrew, followed by an inverted loop, then by another, even bigger loop before the car began to climb another incline like the first.

"Is that it?" he asked her, his voice cracking with excitement.

"Nope!" she yelled back just as the car was released for the second time to travel the same path backwards.

This time, Kail was so excited and felt so thrilled that he actually screamed with everyone else in the inverted corkscrew and the loops. He was quite disappointed when the car stopped at the entranceway at the end of the ride. He had enjoyed the experience far more than he had expected to, but they had to vacate the ride for the next group of passengers.

"Would you like to do it again?" Kail asked excitedly.

"I don't think my head or my stomach could take it again so soon!" She laughed. "Why don't we do something a little more tame first, then come back to do it again later?"

"Okay," he said. "What do you suggest?"

The two visited the fun house and then the haunted house, which didn't seem all that haunted to Kail, and ended up at a particular ride that spun a group of cars around in circles over inclined surfaces. The centrifugal force nearly squashed them against the side of the car, and Connie against Kail, but they managed to get off without becoming too dizzy.

They got on a couple of more rides that threw them side-to-side or up and down, and passed over a ride called the 'Tilt-a-Whirl' where the operator was hosing down one of the cars with water. They stopped to ride 'The Zipper' where the cars were able to spin each on their own hinges as well as along a rotating, oval-shaped body connected by a chain. A lot of screams seemed to come from that particular ride as well.

The last ride they went on was a Ferris wheel. It was not a particularly exciting ride, but the wheel went so high in the air that the view of the beach and the boardwalk below was breath-taking. Connie sat next to him, and Kail put his arm around her affectionately. She snuggled up and leaned next to him, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I want to thank you for showing me this program," Kail said. "This place is very wonderful."

"Yes, it is," she agreed. "My father is a holo-programmer. He made this program for me on my seventeenth birthday. This is supposed to be a typical beach and boardwalk of the late twentieth or early twenty-first century Earth. They don't make 'em like they used to anymore."

"I guess not," Kail agreed.

They sat together in the Ferris wheel car for several minutes, enjoying each other's company, when all the sudden, the entire holosuite shook violently. No one else in the program seemed to notice, so it was definitely not part of the program. They clung to each other as a second wave of shaking almost knocked them out of their seats in the car, and no sooner had it stopped when the power to the holosuite was cut, leaving them in mid-air about a meter above the floor as the scene around them disappeared.

They fell to the floor hard, but there was no damage, save for a sore bottom. Kail stood and helped Connie up.

"I wonder what happened?" Connie said.

"I don't know, but I'd better go see if I can help chief O'Brien," Kail told her. "It didn't feel like it was that far away."

"Right," Connie agreed. "I'll go with you." 


	6. Chapter 6

It would have been a simple matter of using the main computer to locate the chief of operations, but voice communications and the voice interface with computer were down. So, Kail had to find an operational computer terminal that hadn't overloaded from the power surge that blew out the main computer's interface. Chief O'Brien was on level eleven, only three levels down, in the main computer core directing damage control teams and replacing some of the more intricate circuitry himself.

"What happened here?" Connie asked the chief from just outside the main core.

"A bomb went off over there," he said and pointed to the mangled bulkhead on their left without even looking up from his work. "Just powerful enough to do major damage, and the sensors didn't even pick it up until it was too late."

"How can we help?" Kail volunteered.

"Join one of the damage control crews," O'Brien said, still not looking up from his work.

They did as they were told and joined someone repairing holes in the plasma regulator conduits and replacing burnt out diodes. A couple hours work saw that most of the damaged circuitry was repaired or replaced, except for the gaping hole in the protective bulkhead where the explosive was set.

Kail, like a good engineer, kept an eye on everything going on around him and noticed the only man who had managed to get the chief to look up from his work on the complex circuitry of the main computer interface. He was a dark-skinned human man with an air of command, and the Starfleet rank pips on his collar told Kail that he was Captain Sisko, commander of the station. Kail could just barely hear them talking, and he listened carefully as he worked.

"How are the repairs going, Chief?" the captain asked.

"Well, the damage was pretty extensive," the chief answered. "Whoever planted that bomb got past the main core's security protections and made that concentration of the explosive material just potent enough that it would blow out a good deal of circuitry, and yet not quite concentrated enough to be detectable by the station's sensor net. I don't know of any species that is cunning and fast enough to do all that, even Ferengi, and not set off an alarm, or at least leave a trace they were here."

"Chief, I want you to get the personnel information of everyone here," Sisko ordered. "Don't let anyone leave until Dr. Bashir has had a chance to take blood samples from everyone. I had the area sealed off after the blast. I think the culprit is here among us."

"So you think those rumors about another Changeling infiltrator are true?" the chief asked, clearly concerned.

"It's very likely," Sisko confirmed. "Who else could have possibly pulled it off?"

"The only way whoever it was could have planted that bomb without having to completely disable the security alarms was to come through the ventilation grate up there," O'Brien said and pointed up at the grate in the bulkhead above them. "I scanned it and there's no sign of any breaking in."

"This is it," Kail thought. "This is where I will be found out."

His coloring went noticeably paler and it looked as if a sweat-like sheen suddenly covered his face, which Connie immediately noticed. She approached him and laid a cautious hand on his shoulder.

"Are you all right, Kail?" she asked him. "You look ill."

"I feel ill," Kail said, not bothering to hide his depression.

"Maybe you should go to Dr. Bashir." Connie tried to comfort him. "I saw him just a few minutes ago around the corner, I think."

"No." Kail pulled away further. "I'll be fine."

Connie looked up at him sympathetically as the chief started rounding everyone up to be tested. Kail stood just to the left of the chief as Doctor Julian Bashir appeared and began the testing, going from Kail's left to the right in a line. The minutes passed too slowly for his liking, and Kail could not bring himself to look up from the floor as Dr. Bashir settled almost directly in front of him.

As Dr. Bashir pressed his medical instrument against chief O'Brien's arm, Kail almost panicked with anxiety. "What will they do to me?" Kail wondered and suppressed an intense urge to bolt from the room. "I have to face this like a man. Maybe they'll go easier on me when I explain that it wasn't me."

For a long moment, Dr. Bashir did not move. Kail, curious, looked up to see the doctor staring blankly; but the person whom his attention was fixed was not Kail, but Chief O'Brien. He was even more curious now to see what the matter was, and realized it when he looked at the little vial in the doctor's hand. It contained a small amount of a gelatinous, amber-colored liquid, a Changeling's substance.

"It's him!" someone shouted.

But he hasn't taken a sample from me yet! Kail thought to himself, confused.

A frightening smile crossed O'Brien's features, and he suddenly morphed to escape through the vent that he had come through to plant the bomb. Captain Sisko had promptly ordered security to lock down every force field in the area, but some of them were still non-operational. All the non-essential personnel would have to be sealed in their quarters and tested, including Connie; but Kail, with his engineering experience, was asked if he would stay to help finish the repairs, so it was possible for Kail to avoid being tested a while longer. Connie seemed to realize the fact that Kail may not be staying with her when she was told by a security officer to go back to her quarters.

"Will you wait just a moment?" Connie asked the security officer sternly, and then she turned back to Kail as he sullenly returned to his repair work. "Kail why don't you come with me? I personally would rather not be alone, and I'm sure you could use some friendly company as well."

"I... I can't, Connie," Kail said, continuing to do repairs. "They need my help."

"I'm sure they can do without you!" Connie exclaimed, becoming concerned again, and the security officer was becoming impatient. "Won't you stay with me? Please?"

Kail turned to face Connie with a sad look on his face. "Connie, I can't... There are just things you don't know about me. These people will need more than just assistance repairing the damage; I must stay and help. I can't hide from it any longer."

Sisko and Bashir, who had been chatting behind them amongst themselves for a few moments after O'Brien's disappearance, couldn't help but overhear his statement.

"Hide from what?" they both said in unison.

Kail grimaced with anxiety as they all looked at him expectantly. He hesitated for a long moment, refusing to meet their eyes in shame and said, "I... am a Changeling."

"What?" Sisko said with surprise. Dr. Bashir stared with shock, a look of horror etched on his face. Connie's expression had not changed, however, but she looked at him as if awaiting an explanation.

"I'm not supposed to be here," Kail implored, his eyes fixed on the floor. "I was content living by myself on Bajor; no one knew I was a Changeling, so I was accepted when I moved to the village. I never wanted to come here because I knew I would probably be caught and found out. I assure you, I am not a violent person, and I did not set that bomb. I only wanted to live in peace."

Seeing that Kail had admitted himself and had not tried to run away, Sisko and Bashir relaxed a little. Since the other Changeling had already shown himself to be the most likely culprit, the last thing Sisko wanted was to have to worry about Kail.

"I'm sorry, Connie," Kail said sadly. "I never wanted to hurt you. I suppose I can't really expect things to be the name now, can I."

"I don't see why not," Connie said almost happily. "I already knew about it, Kail."

His head snapped up. This time, it was Kail's turn to stare.

"Do you remember when I asked you what made you think I didn't already know all your secrets?" she continued. "I've known since before we started hiking."

"You... You did?" Kail was at a loss for words.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes, Kail, I did. It doesn't matter to me that you're a Changeling. I'll admit, when I first saw it, I was a bit cautious; but I see you for who you really are: the man I've fallen in love with."

With that, she pressed her lips against his and pulled him closer in their embrace. Kail was so happy that she didn't hate him that he almost felt as if he would literally melt in her arms. He returned her kiss deeply and wrapped his own arms around her. When they finally parted, both were smiling happily and Connie was left slightly breathless.

"Excuse me, Sir, but I still have to take her back to her quarters," the security officer said, who had been momentarily forgotten.

"No, Kail, please come with me!" Connie pleaded, taking his hand. "I don't want to see anything happen to you."

"It's all right, Connie," Kail reassured her, giving her hand a squeeze. "I'll be fine; I just have to help Captain Sisko find Chief O'Brien and the other Changeling. After that, we can do anything you want. For now, please go. You'll be safer if you go back to your quarters and wait."

The security officer took her arm and pulled her back towards the turbo lift to the habitat ring down the corridor and she did not resist. Kail watched her go as Captain Sisko and Doctor Bashir approached him.

"How can I assist in your search, Captain?" Kail asked as he turned to face them.

"I've contacted Constable Odo and he's on his way," Sisko answered. "I'd like you to help Odo and Dr. Bashir find the chief while I lead five other teams to find the Changeling. What's your full name, Kail?"

"Tescar Kail, Sir," Kail said as an alien-looking man with a very smooth, and relatively featureless, mask-like face turned the corner to join them. The only part of him that seemed to hold any expression was his eyes; other than that, he seemed downright professional.

"Excuse me for asking, but I don't think I'm familiar with your species," Kail said politely.

"Yes, you are," Sisko said. "He's a Changeling too."

"You are?" said Kail, surprised, and Odo nodded once in confirmation. "Forgive me, but why does your face look different?"

"Well," Odo began in his low, almost scratchy voice, "it's one thing to copy the face of another persona, but I chose to attempt to create my own. I am a shape-shifter."

"I see," Kail said understandingly.

"Wait a minute," Odo said, suddenly remembering the captain's last sentence. "What did he mean, 'too?' Are you a Changeling as well?"

"Yes, but don't worry," Kail assured him. "I'm not the one who set that bomb. There is yet another Changeling aboard who did."

Now it was Odo's turn to look at Kail strangely. "How did you manage to get your face to look so Bajoran?"

"It's not really a unique face that I created myself," Kail explained. "This was my father's face when he was younger, long before he died. Of course, I couldn't copy his face exactly, but after some practice, I created this reasonable facsimile."

"Your father...?" Odo said questioningly.

"Well, he was the man who found me and taught me everything I needed to know about being Bajoran," Kail continued explaining. "He'd told me after I learned to speak that I was like a son to him, so I called him my father. He was very good to me, and when he died, I was lost until I found my place in my home village in the Lerrena Valley."

"Gentlemen," Captain Sisko interrupted. "I'm sure this is a fascinating conversation, but we need to find the chief as soon as possible. He may be hurt."

"Yes, of course, Captain," Odo said.

"Oh, and Odo?" Sisko added.

"Yes sir?"

"See if you can help Dr. Bashir keep his mind on his work instead of his new girlfriend, huh?" the captain said with a teasing smile.

"I'll try, Captain," Odo said with a little smile of his own, making Julian blush beet red at the realization that he'd been caught kissing Kelsee in the infirmary while he was on duty.

They were soon on their way, searching the corridors on the way to Chief O'Brien's quarters for the missing engineer as Captain Sisko had ordered. Dr. Bashir walked fearfully between Odo and Kail, wary of a possible attack by the enemy Changeling. Level by level, they searched through research labs and other work areas, as well as maintenance lockers, storage lockers, and down every adjoining jefferies tube they could pry the hatch off of.

When they finally reached level five, the level that O'Brien's quarters were located on, they stopped to begin searching a nearby group of maintenance lockers. Suddenly, a barely audible THUMP emanated from a group of lockers on their right, and Dr. Bashir jumped back and away in surprise. The gray steel lockers were old but well built, and so would not open without the proper authorization code for the lock, which Odo knew from being chief of Security.

The locks popped open one by one and the locker doors slip open. As Odo approached the fourth locker from the right, the loud THUMP repeated itself. They could immediately tell that, whatever it was, it was in that locker. The locker door slipped open as all three of them jumped into defensive positions to reveal a semi-conscious Chief O'Brien who, being suddenly released form his prison, fell to the floor.

Dr. Bashir let out a sigh of relief at finding his friend alive, and after examining him found that the chief suffered from a mild concussion and a nasty gash on his forehead where it appeared that he'd been hit several times, as the blood that still oozed from the wound had caked itself to a large portion of the right side of his face.

Dr. Bashir rushed to remove his equipment from his medical kit. After cleaning off most of the dried blood from his face, he took out a dermal regenerator and started healing the chief's wounds. Odo and Kail stood over them, watching protectively.

"Attention security personnel," Sisko's voice shouted through the station-wide com-system. "The changeling was spotted in section twelve on level six, heading upward. Proceed with extreme caution."

Chief O'Brien started regaining consciousness and saw Dr. Bashir almost drop the dermal regenerator at the announcement. That was the level and section just below and ahead of them. Odo and Kail had realized the same thing and were looking around nervously.

The sound of a piece of metal clattering on the floor echoed down the corridor from ahead of them right where Captain Sisko said the Changeling was moving. Walking just far enough down the corridor to see him, Kail and Odo were close enough to witness the Changeling burst out through a weak deck plate in the floor. He somehow knew they were there and immediately leapt up towards the ceiling and broke through to escape.

Kail and Odo were not about to give up and let him go, so they both leapt up after him to follow through the gaping hole in the ceiling. Dr. Bashir tried to follow the, but could not pull himself up through the hole and was forced to abandon his pursuit to tend to the semi-conscious O'Brien and warn the Captain of what they had witnessed over his com-badge.

Odo had been the closest behind the enemy Changeling and so tried to follow from behind as closely as possible while Kail attempted to cross a junction in a ventilation conduit to cut him off. Their strategy worked and soon the Changeling was forced to slip in between the bulkheads of the corridors to escape, a place where he could easily be cornered.

Sitting next to the chief and attempting to aid him in his struggle for complete consciousness, Julian Bashir could hear the ceiling plates above him creaking eerily as Odo and Kail pursued the Changeling over his head inside the ceiling. When the noises stopped after a few moments, a flicker of relief went through Julian's thoughts and he assumed that Kail and Odo had finally managed to corner the intruder. He was about to gather up the chief to take him safely to the infirmary when the bulkhead behind him virtually exploded and an amber-colored, gelatinous liquid poured out onto him angrily.

Bashir pushed O'Brien aside out of harm's way but only just before the changeling had decided to keep the doctor in his grasp so as to use him as a hostage. The changeling backed up against the bulkhead with his hostage as Odo poured out through the bulkhead where he had recently come through and Kail poured into the corridor from another hole in the ceiling on the other side.

As all three Changelings reformed into a humanoid form, Julian attempted to struggle free from the Changeling's choking grasp, but to no avail. His grip was too strong. The doctor cursed himself for leaving himself open to be taken hostage.

"Give it up," Odo demanded and kept his distance for fear that the changeling might hurt the doctor. "You can't escape and you can't run forever."

"I can, and I will," the changeling spat in reply. "You can't stop me."

With that, the changeling started to morph with the doctor still in his clutches. Doctor Bashir gave a yell as it dragged him back, stretching his arms at an obscene angle, and then together they slipped back toward the gaping hole in the bulkhead. Kail knew that if the other changeling escaped that it would take more hostages as many times as it took to finally escape the station. He inched forward slowly.

The changeling stared him down; he knew what Kail was planning. At the same time, the changeling released the doctor and Kail jumped him. Kail forcibly shoved the other changeling away from the hole with every ounce of strength he could muster, cutting off the closest means of escape. He struggled fiercely and was determined not to let this thing that could not possibly be related to him get away, when suddenly a sharp jolt bit into his lower extremities, paralyzing him and his prey in a death grip.

Seconds stretched into what seemed like minutes and hours when the shock finally released him and he fell to the floor with a soft slosh of liquid. 


	7. Chapter 7

He didn't know how long he lay there before he finally was able to reason what had happened. Someone behind him had taken a plasma conduit lead from inside the broken bulkhead and thrust it between them. Every molecule in his body buzzed inside him for what seemed to him like weeks, but finally he was able to coalesce himself into his normal bajoran shape.

"Kail…?" He faintly heard a voice near him whisper. It took him a moment to remember whose voice it was. It was Connie's voice. He willed himself to open his eyes to look into her pretty face with her light brown hair and her dark eyes.

She smiled broadly back at him with uncontained joy and gave him a great big bear hug. "You're all right! I'm so glad!"

He hugged her back and laughed as he gently caressed her hair as it fell onto his face. "Are you sure I'm all right? I feel horrible."

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, a little anxious. "When Chief O'Brien pulled out that plasma conduit from the wall and stuck that changeling with it, we thought you were dead along with that other changeling until Doctor Bashir ran his tests and found that you were still alive!"

Kail looked wearily over at the doctor on his other side and gave him as genuine a smile as he could fashion. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Oh, no," he protested with a grin. "Thank you, sir. You are the one who saved my life, as I recall."

Kail smiled again and turned back to Connie. "Connie," he said softly and gazed into her deep eyes, "will you stay… Will you stay with me? I love you."

Connie hugged him again enthusiastically. "Of course I will!"

"Then let's go to Bajor and be joined!" Kail exclaimed with happiness.

Someone in the back of the room cleared their throat before she had a chance to give a reply. Their eyes followed into the shadows. Major Kira stepped forward from the shadow of the consoles and spoke first. "I'm sorry, Kail, but now that we know your current "status," I don't think the Bajoran government will allow you to return to Bajor."

Kail's eyes fell.

"Maybe we will go to Earth, then," Connie hopefully volunteered.

Captain Sisko then appeared at the side of Major Kira. "I'm sorry, Ms. Preston, but I don't think the Federation government will allow Kail to stay on Earth, either, unless he is in a laboratory."

"Have I not already proven that my loyalties are not to the Dominion?" Kail pleaded. "Is there nowhere that we would be welcome?"

At this Captain Sisko smiled and said, "You are welcome here on Deep Space Nine and will remain so for as long as I am captain of this station."

"But," Kail still pleaded, "will I be allowed to at least visit my friend Dovan now and again on Bajor?"

Major Kira hid her frown. She understood his reasons for wanting to visit old friends. "I think something can be arranged."

Kail grinned and neither of the two had ever before felt so much joy. He took Connie into his arms and kissed her long and deeply.

And they lived happily ever after. 


End file.
